One way I can become a cleaver gardner is by choosing plants that I use often and remove those that I won't use over the next two seasons. One such plant is rosemary. I LOVE rosemary. It is my best friend in winter. But I doubt it will get used for much except tea and the occasional cocktail over summer. I decided to remove it and try drying my own herbs for the first time. This way I can use it for tea and other summer refreshments - and the plant does not go to waste.
I simply pulled the plant from the earth, shook the dirt off and tied string around the stem.
Right now the rosemary is hanging in our hallway, adding a sweet smell to the air as it dries. In a month the rosemary will be dry and I will crush it up, housing the contents in an old repurposed glass bottle.
I have a fun project coming up on the blog for plastic free teabags (uh-huh there is plastic in your teabags) and I plan to include a tea recipe from the rosemary I am drying.
There is something calming about taking herbs I have watched grow and drying them. It is a satisfaction that I never got from buying herbs prepackaged in plastic bags or with plastic lids. This new process is nourishing, kind and familiar.
Have you dried herbs? What is your favourite herb to dry?
Have you thought about Rosemary in the front yard or in a pot near the front door? We have just moved ours to the front yard before starting our building works. It makes a lovely shrub. I only suggest this as it takes longer to grow than other plants.
ReplyDeleteMind you, I use it every time we eat lamb, which is year round at my house :)
Unfortunately we do not get enough sun near our front door. - maybe a couple hours in the afternoon? I checked on Ripe Near Me and there a couple rosemary plants near me, so if i get desperate i know that i can pop up the road for some :)
DeleteI don't usually dry herbs because I grow most of the ones I use all the time. The exceptions are bay leaves and chillies. I don't have a bay tree so if I ever get given fresh bay leaves I dry them. In Melbourne I dried chillies for winter use but here in Adelaide they seem to grow year-round.
ReplyDeleteChilies would be a good idea. I have my first banana chili plabt growing and i don't eat enough of them to keep up.
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